Union Explorer Ship
Explorer Ship While all Union ships can be used for exploration, and even dedicated war ships have lab sections and a science department. However most exploration and science missions are carried out by the Science Corps. The Science Corps is completely separate from the Union Military and not under the authority of the Military Council of the Assembly. The Science Corps maintains space stations, bases and deploys its own fleet of space craft. Some are highly specialized and tailored to their scientific mission. Some of the Science Corps ships are modified ships from the Union Navy. The most common Science Corps Research and Exploring platform however is the Humbolt Class – Explorer and over 10,000 units are currently in service. These ships are lightly armed 320 meter Spheres,1 with excellent shields, extensive lab facilities and wide arrays of sensors and observation tools. The technical personnel aboard an Explorer ship is usually Union Navy and the actual ship is under the command of a Union Navy Captain 2, but the overall leader is a Science Mission Chief.3 Notes *1 The Science Corps operates its own Academy, but only for the science crew. Engineering, Helm and Command functions are performed by Navy personnel. No Union Officer or Non Com is simply transferred to Science Corps duty and will be asked first. To make a posting aboard a Science Corps vessel attractive, such duty is seen as a good career move and the pay is 25 percent more. In addition to that, both the Science Corps and the Union Fleet have created a number of ribbons and citations reflecting Science corps Duty. *2 For all sense and purpose it is the Mission chief that has the lead and the highest command authority aboard a Science vessel. However in times of emergencies, or any time the ships alarm is raised, the Ships Captain becomes the final authority. *3 In accordance with the last Cease Fire Agreement and the Free Space Treaty, vehicles and ships that conduct missions of peaceful exploration and scientific purpose may not be attacked, or otherwise harmed or threatened. In return Science Vessels can only carry light armament specifically designed for defense. This is part of the reason Science Vessels carry little or in some case no weapons. Explorer ships by nature traveling unknown regions of space and do have at least one Translocator Cannon and always excellent Mil Tech shields. The Captain of a Science or Explorer Vessel has the authority in case of hostile attacks or threats to change the Vessels authority from the Science Corps to the Union Fleet. This is a final and last step, but it allows the Captain not only to access Union Fleet Communication ( Prohibited while being a Science Vessel) and call for Combat Vessel assistance, it also allows the Ship AI to release the Translocator Cannon and Battle Shields for use. (As long as the Vessel is a designated Science Ship, the Translocator Cannon remains inactive and cannot be used. The same holds true for TransDim Battle Shields and other “Mil Tech”) This is the famous Explorer ship compromise allowing “civilian” ships to be equipped with military grade equipment. Category:Spaceships Category:Armed Forces - Union